“The latest episode of The Acolyte is basically a horror movie – and I love it

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for “The Acolyte,” Episode 5.

Star Wars has some pretty iconic lines, but one that has always stuck in my mind is the way Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) describes the dark side of power in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: “The dark side of the Force is a path to many abilities that some consider unnatural.” He more or less wanted to say that the dark side offers some frightening images. Darth Vader is a cyborg monster in black, Darth Maul looks like a demon crawled out of the depths of hell, and Sidious was even a zombie once. Say what you will about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but the sight of a half-alive Palpatine was shocking as hell. Conclusion: war of stars Villains work best when they have a horror element. The latest episode of The Acolyte“Night,” This theory is further supported by the portrayal of Qimir (Manny Jacinto).) as a Sith Lord.

In the previous episode, “Day,” Qimir was confronted by a Legion of Jedi—and then viewers had to wait a week until the episode ended on a cliffhanger. “Night” immediately follows on from that cliffhanger and establishes Qimir as one of the most fearsome antagonists of the war of stars Universe. The first half of “Night” also feels like a horror film Thanks to Alex Garcia LopezThe direction was great and kept me hooked from the opening credits to the closing credits.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a mystery thriller that takes viewers into a galaxy filled with dark secrets and emerging dark side forces during the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they face are more sinister than they ever expected.

Release date

June 4, 2024

Main genre

Science fiction

Seasons

1

Studio

Disney+

franchise

war of stars

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Qimir looks and moves like a slasher villain, not a Sith Lord

What immediately struck me about Qimir was his design. Not only was he clad in a loose-fitting black robe, but his arms were covered in burn scars – suggesting he had more ties to Mae (Amanda Stenberg) and her sister Osha, as the two were separated by a fire on their home planet Brendok. The real highlight is Qimir’s mask; it bears a strong resemblance to Darth Vader and Kylo Ren’s helmets, except it has a jagged row of teeth on the bottom and no visor or anything he could possibly see through. This gives him the appearance of a fanged, grinning shadow, which is disturbing enough, but Qimir takes it a step further. In a scene where Mae is running through the forest, he inserts a close-up of Qimir’s helmeted face as the Sith Lord calls her a “coward.” It was so disturbing and unexpected that I nearly jumped two feet in the air; of all things The Acolyte has done, I didn’t expect a real jump scare.

Another terrifying element about Qimir is the way he moves. Each of the Dark Siders up to this point had their own fighting style. Maul and Asajj Ventress have the grace of an athlete, literally turning their lightsaber duels into dances of death. Vader moves slowly, but each of his blows has tremendous power. Kylo Ren fights like a wounded animal, full of rage and pain. Qimir is incredibly fast; there are entire sequences where he encounters the Jedi Knights, and They barely have time to draw their lightsabers and block him in time. In addition, his helmet is made of cortosis, a material that can short-circuit lightsaber beams. The Jedi’s lightsabers are their primary defensive weapon, and having an enemy that can disable that defense is absolutely terrifying.

Qimir’s list of victims in “The Acolyte” touched me deeply

Like any good horror villain, Qimir leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. The episode begins with Osha waking up and coming face to face with a dead Jedi. Later, she witnesses Qimir impaling one Jedi… and then using the Force to pull another into his blade. But the truly terrifying moments come in his battles against Yord (Charlie Barnett) and Jecki (Daphne Keen). Both Jedi manage to assert themselves, but Qimir finally stabs Jecki three times and then breaks Yord’s neck. I have to admit: This was one of the most shocking moments in The Acolyte to this day. What made it so shocking was not only the brutality of the killings, but the fact that both Jecki and Yord grew on me. Although Yord was a little clueless, his dynamic with Osha and Jecki was a highlight of the series. Jecki was also a scene-stealer in his own right, had some hilarious moments, and a connection to Osha, so seeing her fall in battle was absolutely horrifying. It also had an impact on Sol (Lee Jung-jae); up to this point he was a calm and compassionate Jedi Master, but after Jecki and Yord’s deaths he flies into a rage, beating Qimir with his bare hands and even trying to cut off his head until Osha stops him.

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“The latest episode of ‘The Acolyte’ reminded me of another horror moment from ‘Star Wars'”

Qimir’s decimation of the Jedi actually reminded me of another shocking war of stars moment that had its fair share of horror. You guessed it: It was Darth Vader’s massacre of the rebel troops in Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryThis sequence lasted only two minutes, but has become an icon among war of stars Fans, especially the context. Up to this point in war of stars In film history, Vader had only fought against Force users. This time he was dealing with ordinary soldiers, so it was a shock to see the rebels cut in half and impaled. Qimir has a similar presence, which is entirely intentional on Jacinto’s part. I would say that he and the series creator Leslye Headland more than successful, as Qimir will be lurking on the edge of my nightmares for a week or two.

New episodes of The Acolyte will be available to stream on Disney+ in the US on Tuesdays

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